Wuhan Open: Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff Advanced Wednesday

By Shane Lambert

The 2024 Wuhan Open continued on Wednesday in China. The women's singles order of play featured numerous round-of-32 matches. Several American tennis players were active, with mixed results.

Early Exits and American Victories

Bernarda Pera lost in her round-of-32 match, losing in three sets to Daria Kasatkina's steady play. Not a lot was expected of Pera in the Wuhan draw. However, there were some expectations with another American player who fell. Emma Navarro, who was in the US Open semifinals about a month ago, is out of the Wuhan draw after suffering a defeat to Magdalena Frech.

Americans who advanced on Wednesday included Hailey Baptiste. Ranked 102nd in the world, the 22-year-old Baptiste eliminated the 7th-seeded Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets. Baptiste will be looking at a ranking of about No. 79 or No. 80 with next week's ranking updates, even if she does no better than the round of sixteen this week. Next up for Baptiste is Ekaterina Alexandrova, a player who eliminated the No. 10 seed, Anna Kalinskaya.

Coco Gauff also advanced on Wednesday in China, as expected. She remains among the highest seeds in the draw. Gauff, who won a tour title last week, beat Viktoriya Tomova in straight sets on Wednesday 6-2, 6-1.

Unfinished Matches and Injury Woes

Americans were involved in a couple of matches that were not completed. Jessica Pegula eliminated Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 2-0, the Russian tapping out early in the second set. In another match that did not even start, Maria Kostyuk of the Ukraine walked over to the round of sixteen. American Amanda Anisimova did not contest the match due to a thigh injury.

Sabalenka's Progress, Gauff's Challenge and Pegula's Path

The top seed in the tournament was in action on Wednesday in China. Aryna Sabalenka was short of her clinical self but still enjoyed a straight-set victory over Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-4. Sabalenka could collide with Gauff in the tournament's semifinals.

But first, Gauff does have a difficult match coming up in the round of sixteen. She will play Kostyuk, who had the walkover in the round of 32. Sometimes, it can be difficult to beat a player who did not have to exert herself in the previous round. Gauff will be looking to stay hot as she pursues a deep run in Wuhan.

Meanwhile, Pegula will carry American hopes on the bottom half of the draw. A semifinal match between her and Qinwen Zheng, China's top hope for a home-country title winner, remains possible.